John must have sensed what was on her mind. He fell silent for a moment before stating, “We can choose to invite only our close friends and relatives.” Only the ones closest to them in their personal lives needed to witness the commemoration of their relationship. He brushed her cheek again and asked softly, "Is that alright?” Sherry wavered for a moment, then she nodded. “Alright.” John smiled softly, the same gentle glow appearing in his charming eyes. She was going to get up and leave, but there was an enchanting, magnetizing power in his eyes that made her draw closer to him. She had barely inched her head toward him when he palmed the back of her head and drew her into him. Their lips locked. … The date of the wedding was set for the next week. The time, venue, and every other logistic detail had been sorted out. Ten sets of wedding dresses had been tailored for Sherry. All she needed to do was to choose her favorite one among them. Needless to say, J
Liam was stronger than he looked, and he could lift Caprice rather effortlessly. Sherry thanked him with a smile and noted, "There's a dollhouse down the corridor. You can bring Caprice there with you.” Liam went to the dollhouse, carrying Caprice in his arms. Sherry turned around and took Sylvia's hand. “Syl, let's talk inside.” “Alright.” Sylvia followed her to another room. The two sat on the edge of the bed and chatted. Despite telling herself that it was just a simple wedding and that it was nothing to make a fuss over, Sherry found herself wrung with anticipation and unable to fall asleep. She stayed up all night. She and Sylvia talked about all sorts of things. They talked about the past and caught up on recent events in each other’s lives until it was nearly four in the morning. They only slept for a few hours before they were woken up by Aunt Wanda. Dawn had broken, and the makeup artist had arrived to help Sherry get ready for her big day. She wo
Sylvia did not join them. Caprice craned her head to the side and kept stealing glances at the door. She wanted to go back to Liam. Sherry pinched her chubby cheeks and lectured her, "Caprice, the kind of relationship Mommy and Daddy has is different from the one between you and Liam.” Caprice frowned and protested, “What’s the difference? If I like Liam, then it’s the same.” "You and Liam are both children. The way you like each other is different from the way adults like each other.” Sherry lowered the pitch of her voice and explained patiently, "You will understand when you grow up." The last part was the only part that got through to Caprice. She shaped a short ‘ohh’ with her mouth. Sherry smiled and told her nicely, "You can kiss Liam if you want, but only on his forehead or cheek, maybe even his nose. Anywhere but the lips, got it?" "Why can't I kiss his lips?” "Because children shouldn’t kiss on the lips. That's for adults.” “Okay.” Oh well, she figure
The response came in the form of dollar bills swishing in through the gap underneath the door. Isabel's eyes glowed like someone had switched a light on, and she turned to Flint. Flint immediately got on his knees and began collecting every bill he could get his hands on, swiftly tucking them into his pouch all the while. Sherry watched them with great amusement. Sylvia spectated with intrigue as well. An endless torrent of dollar bills came sliding in underneath the door. Flint had his hands full in no time. Isabel crossed her arms and stood her ground. Soon, they heard John's voice again. "Do you know who I am now?" Flint answered while scrambling on the floor, "I do now, I do now.” "Will you open the door for me now?” John asked. Isabel stood her ground. "Uncle John, I’m nothing like Flint, you won’t win me over with just money.” Flint suddenly declared boldly while still picking up one dollar bill after another, “Yes, that’s right!” John laugh
Caprice looked at the door that was tightly shut and muttered, “Daddy?” John answered, “It’s me, I’m outside. Would you open the door for Daddy?” “Okay.” Caprice promptly hopped off the couch and waddled to the door. Isabel and Flint stepped in front of her, cutting off her path. Isabel gently brushed the top of Caprice’s head and tried to recruit her into their game. “Caprice, we’re playing a game with Uncle John, you can’t open the door yet.” Flint nodded. “That’s right!” Caprice tilted her head to the side in confusion. She did not understand why they were trying to play games with her father. That was when she heard John’s muffled voice behind the door again. “Caprice, Daddy wants to go inside to see Mommy, please open the door for me.” “Okay,” Caprice answered swiftly. She turned to Isabel and Flint. "Sister Isabel, Brother Flint, could you let me open the door for my Daddy?” When she raised the question, they could not help but notice the earnest loo
After they went outside, Isabel and Flint exchanged a curious look. “Why does Liam care so much about fatty Caprice?” Isabel was perplexed. Flint stroked his chin, deep in thought. He speculated. "Maybe because Caprice looks cuter than us." Isabel pouted. In school, she was the one who bossed all of her classmates. Every single one would address her respectfully as 'big sister'. With this image in mind, she told herself that she could not possibly be bothered by the fact that Caprice was cuter than her. However, Caprice was not only cute, but she was also known to be well-behaved. Meanwhile, Isabel and Flint always got into trouble. She suspected this was why Liam cared about Caprice. It was because she was more pleasant to be around. Isabel grumbled and decided that she could not care less. She tucked her hands in her pockets and walked outside. Flint followed behind her like a shadow. Sylvia was the last to step outside. After making sure that all the child
Sherry felt a restlessness rising in her chest. Without realizing it, her lips curled into a smile. She said stoutly, "I may be married to you, but it doesn't mean I have to tolerate your nonsense forever. If you ever dare to—" “I wouldn’t dare." Before she could finish, John hugged her tightly and assured her. “I wouldn’t ever dare, my dear wife.” Sherry smiled coyly. “That’s a smart man.” John chuckled heartily before letting her go. Below the stage, everyone beheld the loving couple with lovestruck eyes. Madam Stockton, Lisa, and the others formed shy smiles. Sylvia laughed along with Odell, the two held each other tenderly. Meanwhile, Isabel and Queenie were doubled over with laughter. Liam had covered Caprice’s eyes, but the girl was still grinning from ear to ear. When Sherry remembered that there were so many people staring at her, she wanted to burrow herself into a hole. She wanted to jump off the stage and flee the scene. She blushed and turne
Positioned in front were Caprice, Isabel, Flint, and Queenie. The four of them had no trouble smiling at all as they flashed their rows of white teeth with pride. Click! The photographer captured the beautiful scene, a memory to be cherished forever. … Time flew. Sixteen years later. Westchester. At a nightclub in a college town. Caprice held a bottle of beer and took occasional sips from it. She wore a neat red dress that accentuated her waistline, her natural locks of curly hair were very eye-catching. Even though she was seated in a remote corner, it did not dissuade flocks of men from coming up to her to strike up a conversation. She did not entertain any of them. Some of the men had a foul temper but knew better than to voice their frustrations since Caprice was with her friends. They retreated, hanging their heads low in defeat. Three of Caprice’s housemates came drinking with her. They were the ones who did her makeup for her. Today was
She was her usual self in every aspect. She put her heart into her job and never started trouble so long as nobody tried to start trouble with her. The crew cycled through their locations during their shoot. The constant travel made her skin break out slightly, but there were no other concerns otherwise. The shoot progressed very smoothly and within three months, they managed to wrap up everything at the mountainous region previously mentioned. It was nearly evening when they wrapped up the shoot. Holding a bouquet in hand, she took a group picture with the crew and celebrated with everyone. After that, she planned to hitch a ride with another crew member and leave for home. To their demise, some men in uniform who claimed to be the road maintenance technicians showed up to break the bad news to them. They mentioned that they had to repair some of the roads urgently and so the way home was temporarily obstructed. The director took his phone and called the city hotline fo
He remembered his first meeting with Isabel. She was sitting all by herself on the floor, in the middle of nowhere. Her vulnerable expression only made her more endearing. So, he managed to get her to go to his place and installed her in his home. He fell for her and paid careful attention to all her needs. It did not take long before Isabel caught feelings for him as well. The two of them got together in no time. Their days were plain and ordinary, but also very fulfilling, that was until he met Clarice. With the help of his father, his power struggle with Roland had reached a tipping point. It was at that opportune moment when Clarice’s father saw something in Roland and planned to wed his daughter Clarice to him to join up their families, which was a cause for alarm for Decker. He stressed over it for an entire night before approaching Clarice himself the very next day. Clarice quickly caught feelings for him as well. Furthermore, Roland had been foolish enough to reject
Decker was smiling quite earnestly at Isabel. Isabel threw a deeply suspicious look at him, then she glanced at the stack of documents laid out on top of the table in front of her. “Transferal of Shares.” She was dumbfounded. "I've gone through the contract, it’s safe to sign so go ahead.” Roland picked up a pen and handed it to her. "Roland, I..." "Sign it first, I’ll explain when we get home.” Isabel frowned and tried to protest. "I—" "Don't make me have to beg." Isabel did not know how to respond. Fine. She briefly scanned through the contract. The contract stated Decker’s agreement to transfer the remaining forty percent of his shares in Rockwell Corporation to her. Roland must have talked to the shareholders of Rockwell Corporation about this as well. They all regarded Isabel with polite smiles. Isabel had flipped through the final page of the document. She signed her name on one of the marked-out sections. She proceeded to sign all thr
They ended the call shortly after that. Isabel glanced at Martha and was hesitating if she should break the news right away. Martha seemed to have sensed her staring and suddenly turned to her with a flash of concern. "Isabel, what's wrong?" Isabel took a deep breath and broke the news. "Auntie, Master Rockwell just passed away." Martha's eyes widened. After a lengthy silence that lasted more than ten seconds, she started to break out in tears. She covered her face with her hands and expressed amid bouts of tears mixed with laughter, “Wonderful! About time! I hope he enjoys life in the underworld. God knows that someone like him will never deserve a spot in heaven!” Isabel did not know whether she should celebrate with Martha or console her. Soon, Martha began to collect herself. She briefly wiped away her tears and joyfully took Isabel's hand. "Isabel, let’s go shopping! I’m in such a good mood today, I’m going to go on a shopping spree!” "Okay. But Roland w
Isabel held onto Roland's hand firmly during the entire drive home after leaving the hospital. It was because Roland’s hands were cold and rigid. Isabel sat with him and tirelessly rubbed his hand to keep them warm. After one hand was warm, she would shift her attention to the other. By the time she managed to warm the other hand, the original hand would turn cold again. She decided it was easier to take both of his hands and caress them with the warmth of her palms. Roland looked at her with a gentle glow deep within his eyes. “Thank you, Isabel,” he said softly. Thank you for loving him, and for sticking by his side all this time despite circumstances. Isabel smiled. “I’m just warming your hands, it's no big deal. Still, you’re welcome." Roland smiled faintly and left it at that. Soon, his hands began to warm up off of the heat of Isabel’s palms. When Isabel felt that his hands were no longer freezing, she prepared to pull her hand away. That was when
Decker looked nothing like his usual self. The pompous, arrogant man who held himself far above others and who expected everyone around him to kiss up to him because he was superior to them all. It was as if he had been plunged not only to Earth but a pile of swamp. He had completely lost his usual grace. Isabel said crossly, "Decker, have you gone mental? Is everything going on too much for you?” “Yeah, could you help me?” he said with a coy smile, “Just one hug should be enough to take care of it all.” Isabel rolled her eyes. Without warning, he suddenly braced himself and lunged right at Isabel, stepping past Brandon who was caught off guard by this sudden attack. Isabel barely had time to react. Just when it seemed like his hand was about to graze Isabel, a long pair of arms seized Isabel from behind and jerked her backward. It was swiftly followed by a long, muscular leg shooting outward right next to Isabel. Thump! Decker was kicked to the ground.
"How did you and Roland meet?" Decker suddenly asked. Isabel turned away, fully intent on ignoring him. "Did you meet each other at Carter Corporation? Or did you meet him outside of work and gradually fell in love with him, then you decided to set him up with a position at Carter Corporation?” What did he mean by that? Was he insinuating that Roland was relying on her to snake his way into Carter Corporation? She threw a sideways, belittling look at him. "Do you think Roland is anything like you? He wouldn’t latch on another woman to further his goals.” Decker was not upset by this as he continued with a smug smile. "Oh? Then how did he get into Carter Corporation?" “He proved his worth.” Isabel realized that she had been roped in by Decker again. Nevertheless, she continued, “He passed the interviews himself. I was one of the interviewers and initially planned to dismiss him, but he managed to leave a very good impression on my father and the rest was history.” "
"I never meant to kill him! Roland, you have to believe me. Why would I still try to deceive you when I’m in this state?” “In that case, you can go ahead and explain things to him in the afterlife.” Master Rockwell was taken aback by this, his demeanor tightened. "You...you..." Roland looked at him calmly. "Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. It was Grandma and my parents who raised me. They instilled morals and virtue into me and made sure I’d grow into a decent man.” Master Rockwell was briefly relieved to hear this, but before he could rid himself of his trepidation, Roland continued in a dark voice, "But I won’t forget about you and Decker bribing all those media outlets to defame Isabel. I know you manipulated the stock prices to try to kick me out of the corporation. I’ll make sure to settle our score through the legal system.” If convicted guilty, they would have to rot in prison. “Roland… listen to me, Roland. Decker is your uncle. If you want revenge, you can come
Master Rockwell must have heard their shifting movements and opened his eyes. When he recognized the faces of Roland and Isabel, there was a brief glow in his murky eyes. He motioned to the nurse to have her help him sit up from the bed. After he managed to position himself seated up against the head of the bed, he asked the nurse to leave. Then he cast a loving, tender smile on Roland and Isabel. “Roland, Isabel, please have a seat.” Roland said disinterestedly, "We have things to get to, just hurry up and tell us what you have to say." Isabel stayed silent. A look flashed in Master Rockwell's eyes. Then, he turned to Isabel and expressed regretfully, "Isabel, I’m a foolish old man, it was me who told Decker to leak pictures of you two. He had no choice because I forced him to do so. If you have to blame someone, blame me!” Isabel frowned. She was somewhat impressed by how smoothly the old man switched his mask from one to another. From a forlorn and sad state t